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Friday, December 30, 2016

A Taste Of Hong Kong island

I intentionally picked a route to
Auckland via Hong Kong. Six and half hours of lay over, I thought, would give
me enough time to get a glimpse of one my most favorite cities in the world.
Moreover, I was meeting my friend Stefan after a long time and so, it was
moment of double joy to be there.

My flight to Hong Kong was
uneventful. Immigration process in HK is the fastest I have experienced so far.
Once out of the airport, I took the return pass on Airport express for HK$ 100
and loaded some money on my octopus card. I took the airport express back to
Central and reached there in just 30 minutes where I met Stefan.

Stefan and I enjoy talking as we
walk. We have done that before during my previous visit to HK and also during
our walk around Kudligi town. It is extremely enjoyable, especially in a city
like HK. You are walking, talking, listening and also absorbing the spectacular
views.

We caught up on our latest
updates as we walked around the HK Island. Stefan and his wife Yulia had just
returned after their yearlong stay in Mexico and he had some interesting stories
to share. He also informed me that the junk boat (Ancient Chinese boats with
red main sail) that, I remember sailing in the harbor, had some interesting adventures.

Apparently, the boat sank during the
2014 typhoon and the company who owned it failed to retrieve it back. So, as it
remained sunk, they sold it to another company who then funded its recovery and
restoration. Now the boat is back, sailing
as a piece of history, adorning the harbor view, back dropped by HK’s modern
architecture. Stefan always has such interesting information about the cities
he lives in. These small facts after all, make up a city.

I desired a walk on the promenade
and so, we took a ferry to cross the harbor and reach Tsim Sha Tsui. Unfortunately,
the promenade (Avenue of stars) was closed and statues were removed for some improvement
work that will continue till 2018. Nevertheless, this side of the harbor provides
one of the best views of HK skyline.

We headed back to the main island
to grab some quick lunch at a western vegetarian café called Mana! I had some
healthy flats with egg and roasted vegetables. It was excellent. The narrow and
dense streets of HK Island were populated by the office goers stepping out for a
lunch. This locality also has some really cool karaoke bars and pubs.

Due to lack of time, we packed
our food and ate it as we walked back to the metro station. I bid farewell to
Stefan before taking the airport express back to the airport, only to find out
that my flight was delayed by an hour. However, despite the limited time I spent, I was
more than happy to visit HK again and meet my good old friend.